Lee Hee-ho, sometimes spelled as Lee Hui-ho, (; 21 September 1922 – 10 June 2019), was a South Korean women's rights activist, peace advocate and former

First Lady of South Korea The first lady of the Republic of Korea (, informally referred to as FLOTROK or FLOSK), commonly known as the first lady of South Korea, is the titled held by the hostess of the Presidential Residence of South Korea, presidential residence, usual ...

during the presidency of her husband

Kim Dae-jung Kim Dae-jung (; ; 6 January 192418 August 2009), was a South Korea, South Korean politician and activist who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democra ...

from 1998 to 2003. She is widely regarded as one of the pioneering

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

s of South Korea. Throughout her life, she championed women's empowerment and elimination of gender discrimination. After her marriage, she worked for pro-democracy movements with her husband over two decades of authoritarian regimes. During and after her husband's presidency, she had participated in and led notable works enhancing inter-Korean relations. Lee chaired the Kim Dae Jung Peace Center, which was founded by her husband to promote peace and constructive Inter-Korean relations, as well as to alleviate poverty.

Early life

Lee was born in

Keijō Keijō, or Gyeongseong, was an administrative district of Chōsen that corresponds to the present Seoul, the capital of South Korea. :ko:경성부, -(Seoul of Korea under Japanese rule) Honmachi The central district of Gyeongseong was Ho ...

, now modern-day

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

on 21 September 1922 during the period when Korea was under Japanese rule. Lee's father was the fourth person to receive a medical license in Korea after graduating from Severance Medical College; her mother was a faithful

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

born into a family devoted to

Korean traditional medicine Traditional Korean medicine (known in North Korea as Koryo medicine) refers to the forms of traditional medicine practiced in Korea. History Korean medicine traditions originated in ancient and prehistoric times and can be traced back as far a ...

. When Lee was 18, her mother died and this led to her decision to live up to three principles: not getting married, staying healthy and studying, according to her book "To Accompany." Moreover, her deep faith in Methodism and continued academic endeavours were influenced by her mother. Lee graduated from

Ewha Girls' High School Ewha Girls' High School ( ko, 이화여자고등학교) is a private girls high school located in Jeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Although managed by the same foundation, it is not to be confused with the coeducational Ewha Womans Unive ...

Education

Lee attended Humanities and Arts department of Ewha College in 1942. However, she was unable to graduate because of Japanese colonial policies at the time. In 1946 she went to College of Education of

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three "S ...

to major in English literature which changed to education when she was a sophomore. She was her College's representative at the University's student union. In February 1950, several months before the outbreak of the Korean War, Lee graduated from

. Lee earned a bachelor's degree from

Lambuth University Lambuth University was a private Methodist university in Jackson, Tennessee. It was active from 1843 to 2011 and was supported by the Memphis Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. The university began as the Memphis Conference Female ...

. Lee studied for a master's degree from

Scarritt College for Christian Workers Scarritt College for Christian Workers was a college associated with the United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The campus is now home to Scarritt Bennett Center. History of Scarritt College (1892–1988) The Scarritt College for C ...

and

Career

First generation feminist of South Korea

During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, Lee left Seoul and moved to

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

where she founded Korean Women Youth Organisation with her friends as opposed to women's league of North Korea's Communist Party. After quitting the Organisation due to its function in reality limited solely to assisting military and police officers, Lee worked for youth division of

National Council of Churches in Korea The National Council of Churches in Korea ( ko, 한국 기독교 교회 협의회; NCCK) is a Christian ecumenical organization founded in Korea in 1924 as the National Christian Council in Korea. It is a member of the World Council of Churches and ...

. In 1952 Lee co-founded Research Institute for Women's Issues with her fellow women's rights activists including

Lee Tai-young Lee Tai-young (; 10 August 1914 – 16 December 1998), also spelled Yi T'ai Yǒng, was Korea's first female lawyer ther sources refer to her as the first female lawyer in South Korea She was also the founder of the country's first legal ...

and continued to lead the Institute as the second president of the institute from 1964 to 1970.

First Lady of South Korea

In June 2000, First Lady Lee Hee-ho accompanied her husband to North Korea for the

2000 inter-Korean summit 2000 inter-Korean summit was a meeting between South Korean president Kim Dae-jung and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-il, which took place in Pyongyang from June 13 to June 15, 2000. It was the first inter-Korea ...

, which was the first time that the leaders of North and South Korea met face-to-face since the

division of Korea The division of Korea began with the defeat of Empire of Japan, Japan in World War II. During the war, the Allies of World War II, Allied leaders considered the question of Korea's future after Japan's surrender in the war. The leaders reached ...

. President Kim Dae-jung and Lee met with Kim Jong-il during the summit.

Inter-Korean peace advocate

Lee remained active in politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean relations throughout her 80s and 90s. She undertook several visits to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

to promote dialogue and better relations between the two countries. She traveled to

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

in December 2011 following the death of

Kim Jong Il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...

. At the age of 92, Lee led an 18-member delegation on a goodwill trip to

from 5–8 August 2015. Her delegation included former

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizati ...

Kim Sung-jae, scholar Paik Nak-chung, and several educators, but no members of the sitting South Korean government.

Popularity

In March 2017, a public opinion survey showed that Lee Hee-ho was the best first lady in South Korean history. 46% of the respondents had a positive view of her and only 5.7% had a negative view.

Personal life

In 1962, Lee married Kim Dae-jung.

Death

In April 2019, Lee's oldest stepson, Kim Hong-il, a politician and former lawmaker, died at the age of 71. Lee was not informed of her son's death at time due to concerns about her own deteriorating health. On 10 June 2019, Lee died at

Severance Hospital Severance Hospital is a teaching hospital located in Sinchon-dong, Seodaemun District, South Korea. It is one of the oldest and biggest university hospitals in South Korea. It has 2,437 beds and treats approximately 2,500,000 outpatients and 840, ...

in Seoul, Korea. She was 96 years old. Spokesperson of Kim Dae Jung Peace Center which she chaired confirmed that she died of old age not due to cancer-related issues, ten years after her husband's death, Kim Dae-jung.

Honours

* Grand Master and Knight of the

Grand Order of Mugunghwa The Grand Order of Mugunghwa ( ko, 무궁화대훈장) is the highest order awarded by the government of South Korea. It is awarded to the President of South Korea, and it may be awarded to their spouse, heads or former heads of state of South K ...

(1998)

Book

* ''My love my country''. * ''Lee Hee-ho "Pray for tomorrow''. * ''A letter from prison''. * ''To accompany''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Hui-ho 1922 births 2019 deaths First Ladies of South Korea South Korean activists South Korean women activists South Korean Methodists Seoul National University alumni Lambuth University alumni People from Seoul Jeonju Yi clan